Our history
In 2017, Volt started out as the embodiment of calls for pan-Europeanism in a Europe slowly drifting apart. Volt has since been active in more than thirty countries with rapidly growing membership in each department. Several teams have succeeded in establishing elected Volters. From the European Parliament to the municipal level, because European thinking can also be done locally.
2016
2016
It's mid-summer and Brexit is the hot topic in Europe. A united union does not appear to be as obvious as before. In response, Colombe Cahen-Salvador, Andrea Venzon and Damian Boeselager (a French, an Italian and a German) come together to voice their opposition to recent developments and stand up for a new progressive energy within Europe.
29th of March 2017
29th of March 2017
The United Kingdom officially indicates its intention to withdraw from the European Union by signing Article 50. European cooperation takes two steps back, but on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Colombe, Andrea and Damian take one step forward; the political party is founded. The new energy that the three want to breathe into Europe is reflected in the name 'Volt'. The party founders turned to their European connections to join forces and establish the first Volt branches. And with success, because not much later Volt can be found in various countries. The party was born with a set of shared values and a collection of best practices.
2023
2023
The Volt Slovensko party began to emerge in May 2023, when the co-chairs of the newly formed party, Rick Zedník and Lucia Kleštincová, met with Volt Europa co-founder Damian Boeselager in Bratislava. During the meeting, a briefing was held at which the party was introduced to the public and the registration of the party by collecting signatures began. For official registration with the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, it was necessary to collect 10,000 signatures, which we managed to collect by the end of the year.
3rd February 2024
3rd February 2024
The party's first general assembly, at which co-chairs were elected, was held in Bratislava on February 3, 2024. Lucia Kleštincová and Rick Zedník were elected co-chairs, and Zuzana Púčiková was also elected as temporary co-chair for the European election campaign.
12th February 2024
12th February 2024
The party was officially registered by the Ministry of the Interior on February 12, 2024, just 4 months before the European Parliament elections. We went into the first elections as the youngest party with a real plan, vision and desire to anchor Volt on the Slovak political scene.
9th June 2024
9th June 2024
The first and only pan-European party, in the elections to the European Parliament, which took place from 6 to 9 June, was voted for by more than 1.4 million voters in 15 countries, including Slovakia. These voters elected 5 members of the European Parliament.
In a historically unprecedented international campaign, 149 candidates with a unified political program ran for Volt. The elected members of parliament will thus represent the interests of all citizens who voted for Volt.
In Slovakia, where Volt was registered as a political party just under four months before the elections, almost 2,000 citizens voted for it. Despite being the youngest party in Slovakia, Volt overtook seven parties that had been on the political scene much longer.
The Volt Europa movement was founded in 2017 and already in 2019 won its first seat in the European Parliament. This time, Volt ran in 15 countries, namely Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Greece, Malta and Cyprus.